In the weeks and days before he became deathly ill, Adelanto City Councilman Gerardo Hernandez had close physical contact with two other elected officials, one of whom is confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus and the other who was suffering with pneumonia.
On March 18, Hernandez was admitted to a High Desert hospital, roughly a week after he had attended a regularly scheduled city council meeting, and six days after his attendance at a specially-called meeting of the council that, ironically, was convened for that panel to take emergency action intended to aid the community in stemming the spread of the coronavirus.
At the February 11 meeting, members of the council, including Hernandez, Mayor Gilbert Reyes and Councilwoman Joy Jeannette, had donned mouth and nose masks, though as the meeting progressed, both Reyes and Hernandez had set their masks down when they were speaking to prevent their voices from being muffled.
Hernandez was reportedly showing signs of what he considered to be a mild cold as early as March 9 or 10, and had resolved to self quarantine, but broke from that protocol to attend the meetings.
Reyes in late February and early March had traveled to London. He had taken ill shortly after his return to the United States. At the March 11 meeting, he acknowledged being “under the weather” and could be heard coughing and sniffling at multiple points during the meeting. He was subsequently diagnosed as having pneumonia. One report held that he was tested for the coronavirus but that it came back negative.
As always, at the March 11 and 12 meetings Hernandez was seated on the council dais immediately to Reyes’ right. At various points during the March 11 meeting documents were passed between the two.
At the March 12 meeting, both Reyes and Hernandez had dispensed with wearing the masks altogether.
By March 18, Hernandez’s conditions had worsened considerably and he was admitted to the hospital. Shortly after Hernandez’s admittance, it was determined he was suffering from a variety of conditions which in combination are life-threatening. He was intubated and put into a medically-induced coma. A test done at that time came back negative for coronavirus.
By March 19 Hernandez had been stricken with multiple organ failure, acute kidney failure and septic shock. He is undergoing dialysis on a regular basis. A second test determined that he in fact has the coronavirus. As of this morning, he had not recovered consciousness.
In addition to his contact with Reyes, Hernandez on February 17 attended a political get-together with a multitude of other local and regional elected officials, among them Big Bear Mayor Rick Herrrick, who shortly thereafter was found to have contracted the coronavirus. A photo taken at that event shows Herrick and Hernandez standing in close proximity to one another, apparently engaged in a conversation.
As of March 19, Herrick was symptomatic and he was tested on March 20. That test came back positive.
-Mark Gutglueck